If you are present when the cards are chosen you might be disturbed and worried if either Death or The Devil come up in response to your question.

All the Tarot cards are symbolic, and have meanings which transcend their surface appearance.

Death in the Tarot usually means the complete end of some situation, usually a period of life. It might signify a complete change of role, as with retirement where one is very attached to one’s occupation, the complete breakdown of a relationship, or other meaning depending on the question asked.

The questioner is usually being encouraged to allow that situation to go in the past, in order to make space for something new to arise in its place. The figure of death holds the scythe, clearing away any remaining stubble from the harvest so that the field can be prepared for re-sowing, that kind of thing.

The Devil in the Tarot is a caricature of the ancient godform Pan, the horned godform of the ancient world. The man and woman chained up are really in fancy dress (or undress), chaining themselves – the chains are always loose enough that if they really wanted to break away, and take their horns off, they could.

Often the meaning is looking at the self-created demons in our own life, and why we are keeping ourselves chained to them. Also, we usually need to have a good laugh at the caricatures we have made of ourselves, and the situations we have got ourselves into – particularly with but not limited to sexual partners! Laughing at ourselves opens up the possibility of freedom from the Devil in the Tarot.

The Devil has an important role in spiritual development more generally: he helps us to find our true spiritual level. By giving in to the temptations he offers, until we can say “No more!” we travel down to the level from which we can start to ascend with a strong foundation in bedrock. Most new students want to start from a much higher place – this is a waste of time, they are like the cartoon character who suddenly discovers he is running on air before plummeting to the ground with a smack!